Terri Jean Cummings, 20, was found dead and nude in a field near her Fort Lauderdale home on August 7, 1979, five days after another young woman’s skeletal remains were found nearby. Her killing was one of several brutal murders of young women that summer which provoked panic, vigilantism, and intense pressure on police.

On September 5, 1979, authorities arrested 27-year-old Jerry Frank Townsend after a separate sexual assault. Townsend, who reportedly had the mental capacity of an eight-year-old, confessed to Cummings’ murder and others; that confession led to a 1982 no-contest plea and a life sentence, closing the case publicly for two decades.

Subsequent review and DNA testing in the late 1990s and early 2000s excluded Townsend and instead matched the crime-scene DNA to Eddie Lee Mosley. In April 2001 Townsend’s conviction for Cummings’ murder was vacated and he was released after nearly 22 years behind bars. The case highlights a coerced confession and a wrongful conviction while the DNA pointed investigators to another known violent offender.

Did anyone in Broward County at the time recognize details about the area around the field where Terri was found?